Chuck vs The Eulogy
by BillAtWork
Summary: Chuck and Sarah in the waiting room before a difficult assignment.


_I still don't own Chuck. But I did find out how powerful a dedicated group of people can be. Congratulations on forcing season 3._

_I decided not to start writing again until the decision was made to renew. I have a few ideas for longer stories but, hey, let's ease into this. I wanted to do something a little outside my normal style. So shippers, take note. Chuck and Sarah do not have sex, run off to Vegas, or make out in a darkened room in this story. I made a pledge to never write a story that doesn't have a happy ending. Let's see if I can keep that promise under these circumstances. Thanks to Happydayz for pulling double duty as my conscience in Brickroad's absence this summer. Pray for her. Her task is daunting, lol._

_If you enjoyed this or any of the stories on this site, please take a second and send the author a review. It's the only reward that we get for putting ourselves out there. I want to thank everyone who has sent me a review. I really appreciate the support that you've given me. It really helps me stay motivated._

_If you're a Chuck fan (and who isn't), join us in the forum on this site. We would love to hear your thoughts on the show and where it's going next season. Since we've talked about every possible outcome, someone is sure to be right._

**The Eulogy**

- - - -

"Sarah, I think my tie is fine."

"Chuck Bartowski," Sarah responded in mock anger that was much more subdued than it usually would have been. "We've been married for fifty one years. If you haven't figured out by now that I need to fix your tie, I'm not sure when that epiphany is going to strike you."

"Pretty feisty for an eighty year old woman," Chuck said with his classic smile. Even at his age, that smile never failed to light up the room. And since Sarah had just turned eighty and Chuck still had three months to go, he never passed up a chance to dig her on it."

"If we weren't in a church, I'd show you feisty," Sarah said with her own smile. And even though the years had long ago turned the blonde hair white, nothing could keep the sparkle out of her eyes.

"Why do you think I'm not running?" Chuck asked softly as he pulled her into an embrace.

"Are you nervous?" Sarah asked as she rested her head gently against his chest, making sure that she didn't mess up the tie that she had just smoothed.

"A little," Chuck admitted. "I never like to speak in public."

"Don't worry," Sarah said comfortingly. "You'll be fine."

"I just can't believe that he's gone," Chuck said with a cleansing sigh. "He was such a fighter. I can't count how many times he saved us."

"Yup," said Sarah as she patted Chuck's arm. "This is the only fight I've ever seen him lose. He was the classic tough guy. I don't think I've ever seen him afraid."

"Oh, I have," Chuck said with a short laugh. "A few times. At our wedding, for one. Just before he was going to walk you down the aisle, I thought he was going to pass out."

"If I remember that day," Sarah said as she pulled back a little to look into Chuck's eye. "You were pretty nervous too."

"Who could blame me?" Chuck questioned. "With what we just had gone through with Ellie's wedding I had two things to worry about. Keeping Fulcrum away and keeping you from running away."

"You didn't have to worry about me," Sarah teased softly. "I tried to run once but Ellie had me in a bear hug all day. When else did you ever see him afraid?"

"In the hospital the day Kate was born," Chuck said quickly. "I'll never forget the look of pure terror when I handed her to him."

"I'm surprised that he came," Sarah said after thinking silently for a moment. "It's wasn't really his kind of scene."

"I know," Chuck said. "He made sure to turn his head so I couldn't see. But I'm positive that he had tears in his eyes. And boy did he ever watch over Kate."

"I know," Sarah said. "Kate is the one person in the whole world who was never afraid of him. She is really struggling today, by the way."

"I know," Chuck said sadly. "That's to be expected. They were so close. I'll talk to her after the funeral. She may have never been afraid of him but all of her boyfriends sure were. He was a pit bull."

"Kate and Dave have been married for twenty three years and I still think that Dave is intimidated," Sarah agreed.

"It's funny," Chuck said. "He loved to pretend that he didn't have feelings. He always would go out of his way to make fun of us. But in the end, he was the one that fought the hardest so that we could be together."

"You're right about that," Sarah said. "I can't remember all of the times that he risked his career covering for us. Beckman always had a sneaking feeling about us. But Casey would always come up with some B.S. story..."

"And for some reason, Beckman always bought it," Chuck finished her statement with a laugh. "Remember the mission at the Brookshire hotel when we were two hours late?"

"Of course I remember," Sarah said quickly as her eyes sparkled. "I also remember why we were late…"

"Hey," Chuck interrupted. "In my defense, I had been waiting for that to happen for a long, long time. Do you really think I was going to let something like Beckman having me shot get in the way?"

"Casey told Beckman that Fulcrum had us pinned down," Sarah said with a laugh. "I thought she was going to have a cow. But she didn't bat an eye."

"It was partially true," Chuck said in his teasing voice. "As I recall that day, I was pinned down for quite a while. Do you think Casey ever knew what really happened?"

"He knew," Sarah said quickly with a grin. "He pulled me aside later and told me to keep it out of the missions. And in my own defense, I had been waiting a long time too."

"He really loved you, you know," Chuck said as he turned serious.

"I know," Sarah whispered after a couple of seconds. "But he would never admit it."

"You should have seen him at the hospital the night you were shot," Chuck said softly as he squeezed her tightly. "We really thought we were going to lose you that night. The doctor told us to expect the worst but I guess he didn't know what a fighter you are. I think that Casey wore a path pacing in that waiting room."

"If it hadn't been for Casey, I wouldn't be here," Sarah agreed. "I still don't understand how he pulled it off. There must have been ten Ring agents there."

"He had you out of there before anybody could know what was happening," Chuck whispered. "I've never seen anybody move so fast. Once he carried you to the car, we knew that we had to get you help right away. I'm pretty sure that he had his Crown Vic on two wheels for half the trip to the hospital."

"He loved you too, you know?" Sarah said as she gently placed her head on Chuck's shoulder. "He had lots of opportunities for more exciting assignments after we broke the Ring. But he always came up with some excuse to stay. This is where he wanted to be."

"I know," Chuck said as the tears started to flow down his cheeks. "I can't believe how much I miss him already."

"I know, sweetie," Sarah said as her own tears started to flow. "I miss him too. Are you going to be able to do this?"

"Look at us," Chuck said with a smile through his tears. "Here we have a job to do and we're letting our lady feelings get in the way. Casey would kick our butts if he was here."

"He wouldn't be happy," Sarah agreed with her own smile as she stepped back to re-straighten Chuck's tie. "That's for sure. Don't worry. You'll do fine."

"Let's go say goodbye to our friend," Chuck said after taking a cleansing breath.

"I know exactly what Casey would have said right now," Sarah said with a serious look.

Chuck's questioning look told her to continue. As Sarah leaned in to give Chuck a soft kiss, he could see her face break into her classic devilish grin.

"It's show time."

- - - -


End file.
